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After serving as a U.S. naval officer, including an assignment with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, John A. McEwan founded Technology Advancement Group in 1984. TAG began in John’s garage but is now a leading developer of information technology for the U.S. military. (The U.S. Navy is the company’s largest customer.) John, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy with a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland, wants to wean the nation from dependence upon foreign oil. He is currently overseeing the “Mount Vernon Project,” a 2.25-acre estate in Fairfax County, Virginia, which aims to generate more energy than it consumes. To read more about John, his Roadster and his projects, visit his personal Web site.

I received my Roadster just before Father’s Day – and what a gift! The day it arrived at my home, it was the dawn of a new age. This was an experience that is forever forged in my brain. Like the first horseless carriage or the first radio or first television or the advent of the personal computer, fax machine, cell phone, or even the Internet itself, this totally electric car is free from having to run to a gas station, free from burning anything, free from noise and smell. It represents the fundamental paradigm shift that will define the 21st century.

My dad was a pilot, and I began flying lessons at the U.S. Naval Academy decades ago. I’m also an avid sports car enthusiast. I bought my first Corvette in 1975, and I now own a Lamborghini Special Edition Gallardo and Mercedes S Class 65 AMG V12. Although I can pick from some of the world’s most esteemed gas guzzlers, whenever possible I pick the Roadster.

The Roadster liberates me from foreign oil and wild price fluctuations at the pump. But beyond national security interests, the Roadster simply is exhilarating to drive. It has great road feel. I feel one with the seat! Being able to quickly accelerate without the thunderous roar of a gasoline engine is really cool, stealthy and much more confidence-inspiring, instant and intuitive than conventional gas acceleration, in which the car must proceed through a complicated set of mechanical reactions before peak torque is achieved.

One of the key differences between driving the Roadster and driving any conventional car relates to having maximum torque available all the time. When driving a typical muscle car, you have to drop it a couple of gears, rev the engine and then go through the gears. Then the car revs through each gear until the torque drops, signifying that it is time to switch to the next gear. You repeat this process as you build speed. Whether your transmission is manual or not, the same is true – you perceive the lurch or jerk as your transmission shifts.

But with the single-speed gearbox of the Tesla Roadster, you can forget all of that complicated footwork, shifting and lurching. You simply press the accelerator, and instantly you have maximum torque. It stays with you until you are at your desired speed, which happens very rapidly.

Think about a light switch, hair dryer, food processor or other electric appliance: It doesn’t crank up into high speed; it’s either on or off, and all power is available nearly the moment you flip the “on” button. And in contrast to the deafening roar of other sports cars, it happens in the Roadster very quietly, very effortlessly, very elegantly.

It takes a lot to excite a pilot about road driving. A pilot is accustomed to moving quickly in three-dimensional space, both in translation and in rotation. A car can only move about on one plane, and even that movement is restricted to specific lines called streets. And as far as rotation is concerned, forget it -- unless you are about to roll over, and you’ll probably only experience that once! Yet the Roadster recalls the best of 3D piloting, thanks to its responsiveness and the near-instant availability of all of its torque without lag, without sound, without excuses or excess. And thanks to regenerative braking, you can control your speed by subtle pushing or pulling off the throttle, without ever having to slam on the brake pedal (unless you need or want to). This car should be in the garage of every pilot!

Electrical engineering has always been my passion. My dad received his Master’s degree in EE and has patents, and so do I. My first patent was in 1981 and I started a technology company (tag.com) in 1984. When I was much younger, I was invited to NASA and met the astronauts of the Apollo program regarding my science project which won a national science fair overseas. Even though I was accepted at MIT, I entered the US Naval Academy.

Much like the space program, which has been in the news so much this summer because of the 40th anniversary of man stepping on the moon, Tesla engineers started with a blank piece of paper and a set of requirements. They had to make it fast (0-60 mph in 3.9 seconds), they had to make it last (at least 200 miles per charge), they had to make it relatively cheap (about $100,000), they had to make it cool, they had to make it work, and they had to do it much faster than a typical automaker. From a piece of blank paper to a dependable, street-legal, production car, the Tesla engineers performed amazingly. They hit it out of the park—totally awesome!

After several weeks behind the wheel, I keep coming back to the wiz kids depicted in the movie Apollo 13. The Tesla engineers certainly have much to be proud of. Like their space program counterparts, they accomplished what had never been done before. Like the NASA engineers, Tesla engineers are now part of history. Thanks!

A very evocatively written piece.
Although I liked the analogy with the freedom of a jet, its personally not something I can relate to. Perhaps my most palpable memory of technological change was handling my first digital camera or e-reader. Like its older, mechanical counterparts, it did essentially the same job, but opened up a plethora of future opportunities based on a non-mechanical engine. I was also free from the constraints of running out of film or text. Yes, now, as with the Tesla, the battery is the limiting factor :)
But in all cases, electricity is available from a number of sources, including the cigarette lighter of my car, making replenishment truly portable.
So batman, how about Tesla service vehicles with a giant cigarette lighter socket to charge a limping Tesla? The vehicle could run off biofuels, and include a generator on board and a bank of batteries.

And when did Tesla say they were opening up a store is Africa? ;)

G.V.

1:49am | Aug 8, 2009

That was a nice and emotional speech for the Roadster. Well, if you can't take it from a guy who has about 10 Supercars in his garage (for which you shall be envied), from whom else can you take it?

Although I agree that the Roadster is a great car and I would prefer it to any other car on this planet, in my opinion the Lamborghini Gallardo is still superior in just one important aspect: the looks. I really love the Gallardo's design, and I have to thank you for putting up the pictures of your Roadster and Gallardo - since these two are like my two favorite cars of all time.
If there was a Roadster with a Gallardo Chassis, I'd have definately blown my savings a long time ago. For now, I will wait for the Tesla Store in Germany to open to take a close look at the Roadster.

And then probably blow my savings.

James Anderson Merritt

3:06am | Aug 8, 2009

"From a piece of blank paper to a dependable, street-legal, production car, the Tesla engineers performed amazingly. They hit it out of the park—totally awesome!"

I just have to ask, Mr. McEwan, were you here in the early days of the Tesla company blog, when so many who posted here predicted the failure of the project and pointed with glee to every delay or bump in the road as "proof" that the Teslans were either doomed to fail or slick scam artists? People were SO impatient with the team's progress and SO disappointed that Tesla wasn't starting off with an inexpensive "people's car." Anyone who has been associated with a high-tech hardware project knows that some unrealistic expectations and some unanticipated problems almost invariably combine to cause schedule slip despite the experience of the team and the thoroughness of their planning. By my yardstick (that is to say, by the standards of schedule slip that I was used to at high tech companies that employed me over the years, including Apple), the first Roadster arrived on time or even early, especially when one takes into account all the testing that a street-legal car must go through to attain all necessary approvals. Not only did the Tesla crew jump all of those hoops, they delivered an exciting and beautiful vehicle on top of it all, paving the way for them to follow the rest of their roadmap to Model-S and soon after, the long-awaited affordable EV "for the rest of us." I completely agree with your assessment and very much appreciate your posting. I can only imagine that it brings a smile to the faces of everyone who contributed to that home-run.

Marietta

6:38am | Aug 8, 2009

What a beautiful and fabulous testament to the company and the roadster. Thank-you.

Rob Wilder

9:45am | Aug 8, 2009

Great points about responsiveness and torque of a Tesla... car magazines and public are so accustomed to gassers like Lamborghini being the height of performance, and yet given both options you choose the electric Tesla! We are 'sun guzzlers' here with our Roadster, and i see you're ahead being both a sun guzzler - and a wind guzzler to boot: plus geothermal!

Great inspiration...

Rob Wilder

Jason M. Hendler

12:04pm | Aug 8, 2009

Great shout out to the Tesla Motors technical staff. All the bad press regarding the execs has drawn too much attention away from them and their achievements.

Adam Kowarsh

12:53am | Aug 12, 2009

Out of curiosity, have you heard of a contraption called 'the joe cell'? I saw some Aussies using one for a regular motor, but I really think with a smaller motor, it might be able to really pick up the juice for an electric, especially if ormus was added. I love the whole electric forefront you guys are riding, and for someone who served in the Navy, I can really see how attractive this field can be. I've got Coasties in the family, and as great as the old reliable motors are, I'd really love to see the other side of where the technology you guys develop goes. Thanks

Michael OReilly

10:13am | Aug 12, 2009

Love your Blog and LOVE the CAR! I am retired from the Army and am 60 Years old. I have been saving every dime I could get my hands on to purchase a Roadster. Putting complete Solar in my Arizona Home to be ready. Now my dream was killed since I came down with Lung Cancer. I am in remission now and hope and pray I have enough time on this Earth to save enough to buy my Dream.

It's ironic, you make it through 20 years in Special Opns. and then a Cigarette kills you and worse, your dream.

I will never give up though, someday I will feel that G-Force and say "Mission Accomplished".

Thank you so much for the Great Blog. For Guys like me it is just, excuse the language, "The Cats Ass".

Mike OReilly

CM

6:29pm | Aug 12, 2009

Kowarsh: The "Joe cell" is a water electrolysis cell that produces a large volume of very low density hydrogen/oxygen gas, not nearly enough to run an engine, but they claim that it will improve fuel economy when used with regular petrol or diesel fuels - a dubious claim at best. To get enough "Joe cells" to run an engine without using other fuels would take about 14 times more power than the engine could produce, an efficiency of about 6%. An electric motor is over 90% efficient. a much better and cheaper way to use battery power.

It is great to hear all of the excitement. My Roadster was number 468 and I live in Mount Vernon, Virginia, next to the Mount Vernon Project. I just returned from 2 weeks in Italy where gas is $8 a gallon. In Florence where the old buildings are covered in soot from gas engines, they have prohibited gas vehicles from entering the old section of town except taxis and autos coming and going to parking garages. However, electric cars are allowed within and can hook up to free electric charging stations. Also I attended a wedding in Harvard Yard on 01 AUG 09 and noticed the parking garage next to the Charles Hotel offering free electrical charging as well. What a great time to be driving electric!

It is great to hear all of the excitement. My Roadster was number 468 and I live in Mount Vernon, Virginia, next to the Mount Vernon Project. I just returned from 2 weeks in Italy where gas is $8 a gallon. In Florence where the old buildings are covered in soot from gas engines, they have prohibited gas vehicles from entering the old section of town except taxis and autos coming and going to parking garages. However, electric cars are allowed within and can hook up to free electric charging stations. Also I attended a wedding in Harvard Yard on 01 AUG 09 and noticed the parking garage next to the Charles Hotel offering free electrical charging as well. What a great time it is to be driving a Tesla!

Kare Biel-Goebel

7:37pm | Aug 18, 2009

"I'm sooooo excited, I just can't hide it..."

I just received #600 Yellow & Black Tesla Roadster.

My plates read - "LCTRC B"

I'm the " B " keeper and I love to buzzzzz off

Thank you EM 4 my EV !

I thank the entire Tesla Team !

This is my first new car ever - I'm in my fifties.

I also want to send kudos to my son JJ who intoduced us to Tesla,

He is co-founder and President of Urban Green Partnership...

helping to make the world a greener place.

The new "Gold Standard" is "The Green Standard".

Life is good...

Everyone in my neighborhood os "green" with envy.

Kare Biel-Goebel

MaxDZ8

10:54pm | Aug 19, 2009

Thumbs up for the color arrangement here!

Derrick

2:00pm | Aug 20, 2009

John, if you ever want to just "hand down" that lamborghini to a 33 year old soon to be dad, just send me an e-mail and we will work out the details! But seriously, would you be mad if I then traded it in on a Tesla...or 2 (I am married you know). I love the concept of the roadster and more practically priced sedan. This truly was an enjoyable read to say the least and I love the comparison to the first radio or TV. How freakin cool! I sent this site to my wife to look at, maybe I will be a "signature" owner sooner than later.

The only question that looms inside my head of doubt still is, "What is the life span of the batteries?" Furthermore, how long do you expect to drive this before you notice a reduction in the 230 mile range on 1 charge? Lastly (ok, so I should have put in 3 questions), what is the cost of getting the batteries replaced once they go bad and when do you expect them to "go bad?"

Oleg

1:21am | Aug 21, 2009

Good car and I want to have it. I'm from Moscow, Russia and there isn't the Tesla store here. Could you explain how does hot air in cabin during winter? The Tesla Roadster hasn't radiator for engine and conditioner can't make hot air after -10 C.
I've read FAQ, but I can't find answer.

John Warterfield

3:42pm | Aug 23, 2009

Dear Tesla Motors,

I read and unless I over look it, I'll ask the question, "How much Kilowatts does it take to fully charge the battery’,or cost per mile vs. gas? The reason is my long range prediction that the home will be its on power plant using a combination wind, and solar. The only reason it not happen now is cost. If we produce 85% of all the power we need then the economic benefit would make the next big EcoCapitalistic enonomy. I'm not a Dem or a Rep. I see the car one day being more like a disposable appliance or just another tool like an iphone and not this egocentric, exploitation and physiological crutch. So do you fit the new world? I hope so. Best of luck, John

Timo

12:27pm | Aug 25, 2009

John Warterfield

Tesla Roadster battery pack is about 54kWh in size. You lose some in charging so it takes about 60kWh to charge in from empty to full. Type S has (I believe) 85kWh in its 300mile version. With same losses it would take little bit over 90kWh to charge from empty to full. Of course you wont be driving 244 or 300 miles every day, so daily charging would be much less.

Just use your kWh price to calculate from there. With $0.1/kWh it would be $6 for 244 miles (with Roadster). With $0.05/kWh $3. Pretty cheap. If you have relatively gasoline cheap 60mpg car you would be paying about $11 for same range.

To whoever is keeping up the website pages: It would be nice to see a box on the homepage as to the total number of roadsters delivered to date so we can watch the ticker roll over and see all the number of wonderful autos now populating our highways. It would also be cool to see a time-line for the release of the S-sedan out through 2011.

Love the car(s) and I can't wait to see. drive, and buy the S-sedan.

I take pride in being an American when I can see the innovation and spirit put into engineering the new-wave of transportation that we take us to the next level and wean us off the ICE autos. No pollution, no gas, and lower overall maintenance costs. Way to go!!

Timo

9:42am | Aug 27, 2009

I just saw news in TV about GM Volt that said that company lives or dies with it. Dies that is. They had very good video about Volt and it is *ugly*. I think GM has fired all designers in order to save money and have shut down all wind tunnels. That car will fail for sure, there was nothing nice about it. Design resembles Russian Lada soon after Soviet Union imploded. And tech specs were bad too.

Which is bad thing. It gives negative impact in EV reputation.

Whole car is pretty much joke. I can't understand how someone as big as GM fail so miserably. Unless that is their intent. Get money from government, put it into someones pocket and run. Maybe there is some problem with top management. No vision, no ability to predict future. Some partially fossilized dinosaur in charge.

Oleg: The Roadster has a 3 Kw electric heater that can quickly warm the cabin and shut off. Even in cold weather, the battery pack can run that heater for about 2 days, more than long enough for the average daily drive. If you want to conserve some electrical power, the Roadster also has 65 watt seat heaters that will keep the driver and passenger warm without heating the entire cabin.

Roger S

7:34am | Aug 28, 2009

Hey Derrick;

>> What is the lifespan of the batteries?

Touch question to answer as the answer is dependent on a few variables not the least of which is your own personal driving habits. The short answer is that the battery pack is expected to be at 80% after driving for 100,000 miles.

However, what exactly does that mean? Well... If you're driving habits are such that you're pushing the battery limit every time you take the vehicle out (long commutes for example), then you'll probably want to exchange the batter at 90% instead of waiting till the 80% mark:
244 miles * 90% = 219.6 miles
@80% = 195.2 miles

On the other hand, if you're more of a "home body" - taking the car for short commuter trips and recharging frequently, not doing long traveling in it....
@70% = 170.8 miles
@60% = 146.6 miles - possibly 200,000 mile mark?
@50% = 122 miles
@40% = 97.6 miles - possibly 300,000 mile mark?
@30% = 73.2 miles
@20% = 48.8 miles

As you can see.... as the battery internal wear-and-tear takes it's toll, the battery will provide less and less juice. So... if you "max" out your driving habit distance at 70 miles per charge, it's possible the battery pack lifespan will work for you exceedingly longer then for others. However, this is not the only factor.

It must be noted that it's not just distance that will be affected but total electrical charge output that will be affected as well. So... as your battery produces less of a charge for output, you won't have the same get up and go. Additionally, it may hit a point where you can no longer activate your accessories such as heat.

Perhaps Tesla has identified the 100,000 mile mark with 80% juice to be the battery replacement point because of the electrical requirements.

However, that can't certainly be a fit for everyone.

Someone living in a moderate climate who has need for neither the air conditioner or heater will likely find they can extend their battery life. Someone living in a harsher climate who has need for both the air conditioner and heater will likely find they might need to replace the battery sooner.

Someone taking regular extended road trips - sooner.
Someone who doesn't use much of the battery between charges - later.

In other words: take the 100,000 mile mark and 80% battery charge as a general rule of thumb. After that, pay attention to your own driving habits to see what works best for you.

Oleg

5:33am | Aug 29, 2009

CM: Thank you for useful information about Tesla. I hope Tesla Motors will start to sell cars in my country some day.

Nitish Gupta

10:55pm | Sep 1, 2009

sir/mam,
i live in India and would like to have a Tesla roadster for myself as it is both cost efficient and eco friendly.
in India according to the traffic norms the vehicle should be right hand drive so i would like to know if Tesla can make a right hand driven model for me and if yes then at what price.

Farizejs

1:05pm | Sep 2, 2009

or I have the option to buy the Tesla S faster than the year 2011

Ted Rauenbuehler

1:07pm | Sep 4, 2009

I just had one question. Will you ever build a test car with the lower heating Altair Nano lithium ion cells?

Lad

8:35am | Sep 6, 2009

I haven't been here for awhile so forgive me if I missed the answer to my question:
I couldn't help but notice that when the stig test-drove the roadster, it went thru the turns with a great deal of over-steer and chassis roll; I believe because of the front to back ratio being about 30/70. I suspect because of the heavy battery placement. I have read since that the suspension is now adjustable. I hope the suspension changes help cure this tendency. What have you done to the suspension?

Mark Miller

7:48am | Sep 8, 2009

I've seen electric bicycles with an internal wheel hub motor. Is there a reason why Tesla cars do not have an internal hub motor in each wheel? It seems this would eliminate the need for a drive train, while offering a simple four wheel drive design.

Brian H

9:50pm | Sep 9, 2009

Mark;
There are only about 8 moving parts in the Tesla as it is, so there's not much to save. And 4 motors is 4X as many things to go wrong. And the balance of the car is thrown off by hub motors. Etc., etc. Not relevant, in other words.

Farizejz;
The first Model S cars will come off the production line in 2011, so there is no possibility of earlier delivery.

Nitish;
Tesla will be selling Roadsters etc. in London, with rh steering, so you should be able to obtain them.

Timo

1:08pm | Sep 10, 2009

Brian H;

I used to agree with your point of view that hub-motors are waste of time.

Now I think dismissing hub-motors as alternative is not quite simple matter. Motor in all wheels allows very precise control of slides and traction which might negate the balance-issue of unsprung weight. It also allows 4x power which means engine for each motor doesn't need to be extremely powerful and combined power is still very high. I have now seen few designs that are very light, so light that if we use those motors as a brake so that it allows smaller brake discs weight difference between tire + big disc brakes and tire + hub-motor + smaller discs was pretty small. In fact one design was light enough that it was in use in one rally car. That pretty much proves that doesn't affect car balance too much.

There is still problem with shaking that those motors suffer. It might be that those just wont last, and I imagine replacing one isn't going to be cheap. Also if one of those motors goes crazy and starts to brake (or just doesn't work at all) while others accelerate you have guaranteed accident. With one motor that is less likely to happen. So fault tolerance must be high.

Still, it isn't necessary bad decision to use hub-motors. I believe Type S 4WD version would have one powerful high-efficiency motor at rear and two less powerful lightweight hub-motors at front. Hub-motors at front allows more efficient regenerative braking with more control if nothing else.

It would require vigorous testing to see if those are any good.

To Mark; 4 hub-motors is not simple design. It increases complexity of the controller quite a bit and also power distribution between wheels is issue there. There is no simple answer if those are good or not. (there still is drivetrain, it just is electronic one).

CM

10:59pm | Sep 10, 2009

Nitish Gupta: Tesla Motors is a new company and is working to meet strong demand in the North American and European markets. It will be several years before they have sufficient production capacity and resources to enter the Indian market. It will be several years before they enter the Australian market, too, but that didn't stop one enthusiastic Aussie from purchasing one in the US and paying to have it shipped to Australia. A right-hand version is being planned for the UK, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, and eventually, anyplace that uses right-hand drive.

Ted Rauenbuehler: AltairNano batteries have high power, a long service life and good heat resistance, but are much more expensive and have much lower energy density, compared to the batteries Tesla Motors chose. If the Roadster had used AltairNano batteries, the price would be nearly doubled and the driving range reduced from 244 miles to 162 miles. Tesla Motors does not plan to use AltairNano batteries, unless the price drops and the energy density improves considerably.

Mark Miller; Adding the extra weight of a motor to the wheels would reduce responsiveness in handling, not a good idea in a sports car. The rough and dirty environment at the hub of a wheel makes it much more difficult and more expensive to achieve good reliability. Also, having 4 separate wheel motors would cost more than one motor and differential. There are some applications where wheel motors makes sense, a sports car isn't one of them.

Mark

11:51am | Sep 14, 2009

Tesla Motors, like other great innovators, stood on the shoulders of giants to build the Roadster. The "blank" sheet that Eberhard and Tarpenning started with already included AC Propulsion's T-Zero & AC-150 Electric Drive (partially funded by GM's EV-1 program), LiIon laptop battery advances, and Lotus' Elise platform (which in turn sources innovative components from across the automotive industry). Tesla Motors has done a wonderful job integrating these components into the Roadster, but their blank sheet started with a lot of great technology from those that came before them.

Timo

12:58am | Sep 16, 2009

Mark, I agree that everybody stands on someones shoulders.

This T-Zero was just "proof of concept", idea behind it is much older. At least I have figured that out way before T-Zero was made, it isn't rocket science to make up that idea. I bet there are thousands of people around world that have figured that same out individually.

Roadster is based on that idea, just like everything is based on some idea that is older than thing that realizes it. And Elon Musk made that realization possible. Not Mark Tarpenning or Martin Eberhard.

This is produced for vehicle manufacturers to implement in their cars. I am not a member of Perendev or partners. :)

CM

10:30pm | Sep 21, 2009

Endre: I checked out the "PerendevPower" website. They have a motor that puts out 90 Kw of mechanical power using 100 Kw electrical power input, or 90% efficient. Tesla Motors already makes an induction motor that is more efficient than that. As for the "autopack", that is just a rotary inverter, a motor driving a generator, I'd estimate 81% efficient, so a 100 Kw power input means an 81 Kw power output, it may have some use as a phase converter, but worse than useless for electric vehicles.

In short, Tesla Motors isn't interested.

Dave

3:47am | Sep 22, 2009

Mark/Timo,

Within the comment "Everybody stands on someones shoulders" it should be stated, that if Tesla engineered a superb electric automobile based on prior developments, then where have the big three been all these years? We/they didn't learn their lesson in 1973 with the oil embargo, or the rescession of 1981, so will they learn from the oil price hikes of 2008? Probably can't. If it takes a small startup like Tesla to show the way with what can be done, then everyone will benefit down the road. Personally, I think big oil is too deep into the big three's pockets to let them stray too far away from the ICE auto's. It was just a matter of time before someone put all the necessary engineering together to get the results we're seeing now. I expect that in 20 years or so, we'll be seeing nothing but electric vehicles as the price/volume comes down and around.

Timo

9:33pm | Sep 22, 2009

Dave:

"Within the comment “Everybody stands on someones shoulders” it should be stated, that if Tesla engineered a superb electric automobile based on prior developments, then where have the big three been all these years?"

Slipping off the shoulders they had been standing on?

I think the whole reason why big three were in trouble was in sort-sightness of the leadership. I guess leadership of those companies consist of few dinosaurs and fossils that can't see where world is going. They were there just to make quick buck.

I mean that *everyone* else was already planning on changing to electric future when big three were making huge gas-guzzlers to US market. Now there is GM Volt which is apparently designed by monkeys and researched by looking at what other people are doing. It wont help. Too ugly and too inefficient. I'd rather have new Prius. Or Type S (obviously, but it costs more).

pman

2:36pm | Sep 25, 2009

Wondering what the move to the SLAC facility will mean for production??? Will the anxious buyers be able to get their cars sooner? When is this move supposed to be finalized?

James Anderson Merritt

9:56am | Oct 19, 2009

Another Roadster sighting, heading South on 101 near Menlo Park this past Saturday afternoon around 6pm: We pulled up alongside and ultimately passed an Electric Blue roadster being driven by someone who appeared to be among the technorati. I rolled down the window to "not hear" the engine noise. We put him in our rear view mirror for a mile or two; I was hoping he would zoom ahead and catch up with us before turning off, but no such luck. Perhaps he was worried about CHP or was low on juice. Still, this is the first time I have actually been on the same road, traveling the same direction as a Roadster, so I got a pretty good look from many angles, over several minutes. Very nice!

I can now literally say that the Tesla is the car of my dreams. Why? Because last night, I dreamed that I was in a group of people, standing in a long line in a large, white room. From somewhere near the back of the room, someone called out, "What kind of car do you want?" One-by-one, the people in line called out their choice. When my turn came, I said, loudly and clearly, "A Tesla! -- are you kidding?" Then I woke up.

Unfortunately, when I looked out the window, I saw the usual Ford Taurus in our spot. Oh well...

Andrew Riggle

1:35pm | Oct 21, 2009

Just wondering if the roadsters have those brakes that put out electricity to charge while driving and I also seen a group
with an generator that was the shocks with a car and why isn't anyone using solar charging on the top . These put all together would extend a cars mileage it would seem.

tim keating

5:54pm | Oct 21, 2009

I think the Tesla roadster is a great concept car and yet my college age students are never getting behind the wheel of a roadster or a corvette. So do you have any plans to make a car or an SUV or a light truck that I would consider buying that is all electric.
Tim Keating

Timo

10:58am | Oct 23, 2009

Andrew Riggle, Roadster (and Type S) have those brakes that generate electricity. It is called "regenerative braking". That is the main reason why Roadster has bigger mileage at city stop and go traffic than at highway.

For other two energy gain is negligible and cost is high and they increase complexity of the concept, so it is better to just put in bigger battery for that price.

victoria snapp

8:13pm | Oct 24, 2009

Last weekend i was introduced to the G.E.M. at a national park in Ocracoke, NC. I came home started to research EV's and became so excited and eager to learn more. Today, I have found my dream car. The dream car. When I was 14 it was a '66 Fastback Mustang. In my early 20's I drove my first Audi and fell in love thinking one day I would own an A8. Pioneers , cars built by people who love cars for people who love cars... You, Telsa Motors, have changed the color of my sky. I cannot wait for the opportunity to drive these cars, and to own one.... could it get any better? Kudos. Please hurry with the store in DC, I live in Charlottesville, Va and will be happy to start walking now to the stores door.

Andy Greenberg

2:20pm | Oct 27, 2009

Do you have any Tesla owners from Central Florida (Orlando area) or the Jacksonville area that I can contact?
Andy Greenberg

Carl.

8:59am | Oct 28, 2009

Hi,
I realy like this Electic car but i'd like to know if it works in country where temperature is sometime about 40 degrees below zero.(Celsius)

Carl, the Roadster was winter tested in Arvidsjaur, Sweden, where it gets cold enough to drive around on the lakes:http://www.teslamotors.com/blog4/?p=55#more-55
If you can, watch the videos there, it shows just how well the anti-lock braking system works.

Also, Tesla did testing in an environmental chamber to make sure the heating and cooling and the rest of the car works properly in all climates, including very cold climates:http://www.teslamotors.com/blog4/?p=43

Whenever one uses the phrase "40 degrees below zero" it does not matter whether it is Celsius or Fahrenheit since it is the same temperature!

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